Those of us figuring Demian Maia was next going to fight Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Title have to wait a bit longer. Maia will return to action at UFC 102, but to keep those title hopes alive he'll at least have to beat his next opponent, Nate Marquardt.

great match making though, this is a very interesting matchup, marquardt has the advantage in most areas but maia's jiu jitsu is just so ridiculous, I am on the fence right now but leaning towards nate the great, one thing is for sure though, maia's chin will be put to the test and he hasn't faced a guy as good as nate, it's a big test and even if he loses, i think he will be up to the challenge.

Not so sure I like this match for Maia, but he won't get a shot unless he beats a top 10 opponent... well here it is - a top 5 opponent. Marquardt will be training heavily on not going to the ground, and even if he does he's a black belt himself.

My head says Marquardt, cuz he's just a beastly animal of a man.

My heart says Maia, cuz he's just so classy after his victories, and his Jiu Jitsu makes me cream myself.

This matchup makes a lot of sense, as both guys are deserving of a title shot. You could rank them as 1a and 1b. Marquardt needed another win to solidify his status as the clear #1 contender, and Demian Maia has to prove that he won't put up a similar performance as Thales Leites should he encounter a top notch striker that he can't take down.

Should Maia take Marquardt down, I expect the forums to light up with the Anderson Silva killer talk. I'm not sure Maia can get a tough wrestler like Nate to the ground, but he threw Chael Sonnen to the ground with relative ease, and that's a really good wrestler.

I don't think MAia will be able to take it to the ground even if he jumps guard, Marquardt is such a strong guy at 185. I see Nate taking advantage of Maia's lack of stand up. Nate win's by TKO in the second rd.

I don't see Marquardt getting taken to the ground in this fight. He will be the bigger more physical fighter. The only way Maia will have a chance if he can take him down and I don't see that happening. Because Nate won't fall for going into Maia gaurd.

I want Nate to get the title shot over any other MW right now. I don't think A Silva is in the right frame of mind to beat him again. I think Silva is playing it safe so that he can retire on the biggest win streak in UFC history. Weak, but I am guessing it's playing a small role here. The thing about Nate that I like is the intesity, the hunger. He was doing well for a minute before Silva caught him in their first match up too. I hope Nate takes it to Damian, and defeats Silva as well.

The way Nate is fighting right now, he will show Maia that in this sport its okay win by hurting people. Greg Jackson is going to pick Maia apart and expose every weakness. I think this is a bad matchup for Maia but one that needs to happen.